cawimmer430
Piston Pioneer
I went to Munich today to meet up with fellow GermanCarForum forum member BMW///MPower and his wife at the new BMW Museum. He'll probably post the picture we took together in a few weeks. Maarten, his name, was a very nice guy and he sure knows his stuff about BMWs. Our ways parted soon as I had to meet someone else later on but before that I went to the Pinakothek der Moderne nearby to check out the Mercedes-Benz Milestons of Automotive Design exhibition. I spent about two hours there just drooling over the small lot of cars. All cars and exhibits were on loan from Daimler AG.
Here is the Pinakothek der Moderne from the outside. The second shot shows the name of the modern building and in the background you see the old Pinakothek building.
Inside was a little teaser leading to the Mercedes-Benz Exhibition. The concept car version of the SLR.
Here's the introduction. I photographed the English version for you folks. Click on the thumbnail to read it.
The first car on display is the legendary 1909 Benz 200 PS which is commonly referred to as the "Blitzen Benz". The car made history by being the fastest machine on the planet during its time, faster than any plane or train. The teardrop design aided in this feat as it was obviously more aerodynamic than most racing cars of the period. This speed record enhanced the reputation of Benz Cie. Remember, Benz and Daimler were still two separate companies at this time.
Next up, the W196R "Typ Monza" that from the start dominated Grand Prix racing. In 1954, on the same day that the German National Soccer Team won the World Cup in Switzerland, the W196R's finished 1-2 at the French Grand Prix. Both these events were cited as launching the Post World War II German economic miracle.
A 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K in the ultra rare "Autobahnkurier" body, a very aerodynamic design that allowed the car to reach 170 km/h (standard 500K / 540K topped out at 160 km/h) when the Kompressor was engaged bringing the horsepower rating from 115 to 180. As you can see from the info plaque at the end the car belong to a Spanish eye doctor who used the car in North Africa and Spain. It is one of the few survivors of the 500K / 540K range and possibly the only surviving model with the "Autobahnkurier" body. A beauty, isn't she? I was in awe when I was standing in front of her and took about 100 pictures of this thing alone! I've only selected the best ones - and I love this car so I am going to post a lot of them!
A 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL "Gullwing". There is no explanation needed for this car.
A 1977 Mercedes-Benz C111-III Rekordwagen. The C111-III was fitted with the new 5-cylinder diesel engine that powered the W123 300D / 300D Turbodiesel and W116 300SD Turbodiesel models (later the W126 S-Class diesels) to prove the reliability, economy and performance potential of this engine and the diesel engine in general. At Nardo the car reached a top speed well in excess of 300 km/h setting a record for diesel cars that hasn't been broken to this day.
The 2005 "Bionic Car" Concept, designed with mother nature in mind, namely a fish which has a severely low drag rating in water. The car actually looks quite interest and "cool" in real life. I've seen it before in Munich as well.
A fullscale milling model of the C219 CLS-Class. This prop was to show the viewers how Mercedes designers create a fullsize version of their vision to get the proper feel of how the car will look in real life and if some changes should be made. Notice the CLS drawing on the wall.
Clay/foam models of the C219 CLS-Class.
The design evolution of the Mercedes grille. Really neat.
Colored wood/plastic models of various R230 SL-Class concepts. This is for Marcus, he was so dying to see them!
Artists impression of what the facelifted R230 SL should look like from the front. Guess they listened to him!
Hope you liked the pictures.
Here is the Pinakothek der Moderne from the outside. The second shot shows the name of the modern building and in the background you see the old Pinakothek building.
Inside was a little teaser leading to the Mercedes-Benz Exhibition. The concept car version of the SLR.
Here's the introduction. I photographed the English version for you folks. Click on the thumbnail to read it.
The first car on display is the legendary 1909 Benz 200 PS which is commonly referred to as the "Blitzen Benz". The car made history by being the fastest machine on the planet during its time, faster than any plane or train. The teardrop design aided in this feat as it was obviously more aerodynamic than most racing cars of the period. This speed record enhanced the reputation of Benz Cie. Remember, Benz and Daimler were still two separate companies at this time.
Next up, the W196R "Typ Monza" that from the start dominated Grand Prix racing. In 1954, on the same day that the German National Soccer Team won the World Cup in Switzerland, the W196R's finished 1-2 at the French Grand Prix. Both these events were cited as launching the Post World War II German economic miracle.
A 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K in the ultra rare "Autobahnkurier" body, a very aerodynamic design that allowed the car to reach 170 km/h (standard 500K / 540K topped out at 160 km/h) when the Kompressor was engaged bringing the horsepower rating from 115 to 180. As you can see from the info plaque at the end the car belong to a Spanish eye doctor who used the car in North Africa and Spain. It is one of the few survivors of the 500K / 540K range and possibly the only surviving model with the "Autobahnkurier" body. A beauty, isn't she? I was in awe when I was standing in front of her and took about 100 pictures of this thing alone! I've only selected the best ones - and I love this car so I am going to post a lot of them!
A 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL "Gullwing". There is no explanation needed for this car.
A 1977 Mercedes-Benz C111-III Rekordwagen. The C111-III was fitted with the new 5-cylinder diesel engine that powered the W123 300D / 300D Turbodiesel and W116 300SD Turbodiesel models (later the W126 S-Class diesels) to prove the reliability, economy and performance potential of this engine and the diesel engine in general. At Nardo the car reached a top speed well in excess of 300 km/h setting a record for diesel cars that hasn't been broken to this day.
The 2005 "Bionic Car" Concept, designed with mother nature in mind, namely a fish which has a severely low drag rating in water. The car actually looks quite interest and "cool" in real life. I've seen it before in Munich as well.
A fullscale milling model of the C219 CLS-Class. This prop was to show the viewers how Mercedes designers create a fullsize version of their vision to get the proper feel of how the car will look in real life and if some changes should be made. Notice the CLS drawing on the wall.
Clay/foam models of the C219 CLS-Class.
The design evolution of the Mercedes grille. Really neat.
Colored wood/plastic models of various R230 SL-Class concepts. This is for Marcus, he was so dying to see them!
Artists impression of what the facelifted R230 SL should look like from the front. Guess they listened to him!
Hope you liked the pictures.
